Kindle Fire’s flames have been doused

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Ahead of tomorrow’s full-scale launch of Amazon’s new wunderkind, panacea, and lynchpin of its continuing distribution domination, initial reviews of the Kindle Fire are starting to trickle in… and they’re not as fantastic as we — or you — had hoped. Unsurprisingly, not a single review is denying that the bright screen, solid construction, and $200 price point make for a perfect holiday season outing — but to actually win the hearts of consumers, to steal those throbbing, Cupertino-captivated organs away from the iPad, the Kindle Fire has to be amazing… and it isn’t.

Throughout almost every review, one particularly telling observation rears its ugly head: the Kindle Fire can be sluggish. For the most part, and judging by some video reviews, the Fire is snappy — but sometimes it just slows down. Page turns can lag. Menus can be slow to load. Screen touches can be unresponsive. For a device that is entirely about media consumption, the Fire will live or die depending on its perceived alacrity. If an E Ink Kindle or Nook is better for reading books, and a smartphone or iPad is better for watching movies or listening to music, what space is there for the Fire?

At this point, diehard Android fans are laughing their heads off. Everyone knows that Android suffers significant, sporadic slowdowns — but we assumed, given how much effort Amazon had put into customizing the OS, that the Fire would somehow be different. It turns out that that simply isn’t the case; and in fact, it looks and feels like the Fire OS is just a reskinned version of Android. Worse yet, the Fire doesn’t have a dedicated home or back button — and lest you think that it makes good use of on-screen buttons, like Ice Cream Sandwich, think again: The Fire OS is based on Gingerbread, which means that Amazon had to hack in on-screen home, back, and menu buttons. Unsurprisingly, but still disappointingly, reviewers seem to find these soft buttons hard unresponsive and/or finicky. The Fire only has a single dedicated button, incidentally — a power button — and it’s in such a position that can be easily depressed when in use.

Looking beyond the software, most reviewers also bemoan the limited storage space — you only get about 6GB of usable space, and no expansion options (unlike the Nook Tablet) — and the screen, as is the norm with modern tablets, is highly reflective (again, it will be interesting to see how it compares to the Nook Tablet’s apparently-less-reflective screen). The hyped Silk browser seems to work well, but no one seems to be lauding it as some new super-high-speed solution to mobile surfing. Pages still take a while to load, and panning and zooming around a non-mobile-optimized page on a 7-inch screen is still slow, fairly laggy, and a pain in the ass.

Still, we must remember that this is the very first release of the Kindle Fire, and it’s a rare occasion indeed when any new gadget or piece of software doesn’t feel like an open beta test. Amazon could’ve taken its time and polished the Fire until it shines, but it didn’t want to miss the holiday season. We should also point out that almost every review has the same conclusion: The Fire has some niggles, but it’s very easy to use — and it’s also very light and nimble, especially when directly compared to the iPad. Your mother could unbox a Kindle Fire on Christmas morning, look at the home screen, and know exactly what to do. You couldn’t say the same about a 7-inch Galaxy Tab. In this sense, the Fire is the first true iPad competitor.

Finally, and most tellingly, it seems like shopping on Amazon is the single smoothest experience on the Fire — and therein lies the rub. First and foremost the Fire is a front end for Amazon’s massive meatspace and digital distribution networks. The consumption of content on the Fire might not be perfect now, but neither was the first Kindle e-book reader — and Amazon can and will improve it over time. Right now, Amazon just wants to get millions of these tablets into the hands of consumers — and at $200, just in time for Christmas, and on the back of worldwide iPad-induced tablet mania, Amazon will undeniably do just that.

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Wow. What a biased article. The author obviously doesn’t know how to read if he thinks the Kindle reviews are bad or that the appeal of the device won’t make an impact on the market.

I am a happy iPad user that doesn’t want a kindle but it definitely is something most of my friends/family would be very happy with.

Stoney Vintson

I spoke with an IOS developer who seemed to think that part of the problem with unresponsiveness is the garbage collection for memory management. Newer versions of Android allow for development in C++ avoiding most of Dalvik on top of the Linux OS. I think Gingerbread is before this. Watch the Google IO presentation to get more info on C++ development on Android.

http://twitter.com/bryanilee2 Bryan Lee

Garbage collection?!? Seems pretty unlikely. And if that is the problem then the solution is to fix the garbage collection so it doesn’t cause unresponsiveness, not to switch to C++ development.

Most of my experience is in C++ development – sure you can probably get a little bit of a performance gain by using C++, but there’s no reason you can’t have responsive UI together with garbage collection.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Bfm-Magee/100001396842793 Bfm Magee

The author is obviously somewhat Apple biased thus it’s hard to take some of his comments seriously. The Kindle Fire is less than HALF the price of the iPad and of the NINE reviews I’ve read this morning not one was negative. In fact quite the opposite. While pointing a few shortcomings overall the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive in fact some have been absolutely stellar if not outstanding and have pointed out that for the $199 you pay you’re getting a very functional tablet with very good build quality and tons of content and extras thrown in. The Silk browser has also generally gotten glowing reviews. You can see a roundup of the latest reviews as well as the latest news and discussion on the Kindle Fire at kindlefireforums (dot) (com)

Thomas Wells

No, no this is the same guy that said the Fire would be the end-all be-all of the tablet world and put the ipad

and all other android tablets out to pasture.

http://www.mrseb.co.uk Sebastian Anthony

Hey, I’m not saying that the Fire won’t sell very well — and I’m sure it will have some very happy users — I’m just saying that it’s mega-hot flames have been doused.

Thomas Wells

I understand that. I was commenting on the fact that the others are pretty sure you’re on Apple’s payroll now. I don’t think any android product, tethered to a “store” or not, is going to beat the Ipad, there’s too much fragmentation. However that being said I would never own an Apple product, you see I kinda like knowing that I can put whatever I want on an item that I paid an extraordinary amount of cash for.

http://www.mrseb.co.uk Sebastian Anthony

I can’t tell if you’re being ironic about the Apple-payroll thing. I hope you are.

Mark Heber

I think the article was excellent.
It is the word “doused” in the title that portrays a false image.

1. To plunge into liquid; immerse. See Synonyms at dip.
2. To wet thoroughly; drench.
3. To put out (a light or fire); extinguish.
v.intr. o become thoroughly wet.
n. A thorough drenching.
The phrase, “burns less brightly,” or similar would have been less spectacular but more accurate.

http://www.mrseb.co.uk Sebastian Anthony

Aye, I don’t disagree — but as a writer, when the chance comes along to use ‘fire’ and ‘douse’ in the title of a story, it’s very hard to resist.

The other option was ‘snuffs Kindle Fire’s flame’ — but I thought douse was slightly less harsh.

Anyway, let’s talk about the story itself, as that’s the actual _significant_ bit :)

https://launchpad.net/~silverwave silverwave

the title was a troll…

hang your head in shame.

http://nacs.livejournal.com/ JDavis

Run back to your cave fanboy

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZUDKGNAAZ4E3HJZ4KDK7JVUMRM Sudesh Kumar

Anthony, Did you see the product ? if not , it is not fair to write it off and discourage people who have pre-order kindle fire :(

http://www.mrseb.co.uk Sebastian Anthony

A couple of ETers are still looking forward to receiving their Fire tomorrow morning. It’s still going to be a great tablet, and a mega-awesome tablet for $200 — just be aware that it might not be quite as good as we’d hoped :)

Brian Hartman

There’s unmistakable bias in this article. Any objective analysis of recent reviews of the Kindle Fire shows that they overwhelmingly come out on the side of the Kindle Fire being an excellent device. The author makes it sound as if the Kindle Fire is being panned, but all of those negatives listed (when they even appear in a review at all) are only mentioned in passing. I have read one or two articles comparing the Kindle Fire to the new Nook tablet where they come out marginally more positive for the Nook, but none that make the Kindle Fire out to be the steaming pile of crap the author implies that they do.

http://twitter.com/ulFlyFisher Jerry Russell

Look at David Pogue’s NYT review, the Wired review, the Verge review, Mashable, etc. They point out the same negatives mentioned here.

I think the author is being fair. For weeks it has been touted by the tech press as being an amazing device without anyone in the press having actually touched one. Until now. And we find out once again that the product doesn’t live up to the hype although it sounds like a very nice device.

After reading numerous reviews it seems like Gizmodo is the only one raving about it. Most give it good marks and while agreeing that it’s a great deal for $200 it’s not a fantastic device in this first iteration. I think Wired hits is the hardest but they too admit it’s a decent device. Just not great and it does have a lot of issues.

Anonymous

Well, that’s a bit of a bummer. Hopefully Amazon patches it up soon with some performance fixes. I’m definitely looking forward to it, and I definitely think it could be the tablet to have once they work out the kinks.

Anonymous

Since when does android suffer from slowdowns? My htc desire has been awesome, best phone i’ve ever owned. I haven’t noticed any slowdowns? I’m running froyo, maybe its a problem with the newer os?

Anonymous

Since when does android suffer from slowdowns? My htc desire has been awesome, best phone i’ve ever owned. I haven’t noticed any slowdowns? I’m running froyo, maybe its a problem with the newer os?

Bryan Read

” If an E Ink Kindle or Nook is better for reading books, and a smartphone or iPad is better for watching movies or listening to music, what space is there for the Fire?”…

I think the Fire has been hyped way beyond it’s potential, and doesn’t deserve some of the negative reviews. It’s all about price-point. The thing sells for 200 bucks and people are comparing it to an iPad?? Doesn’t make sense.

Orlando Stoneham

It has been over hyped, but I still don’t think it’s going to be a good product.

As far as price point, you get what you paid for. For 50 dollars more you can get a Nook Tablet, a better tablet.

http://twitter.com/adriankessel Adrian Kessel

there’s probably a lot of space for it…like how a phone is better at going into your pocket than an ipad…and an e-ink device is better for reading than an ipad…and a tv is better for watching movies than an ipad…but guess what ipads have found their place.

https://launchpad.net/~silverwave silverwave

so… this is a review of… reviews?bad Sebastian! No cookies for you.

http://www.mrseb.co.uk Sebastian Anthony

Go back to your cave!

https://launchpad.net/~silverwave silverwave

heh touched a nerve eh ;-)

http://www.mrseb.co.uk Sebastian Anthony

Don’t flatter yourself, caveman :P

https://launchpad.net/~silverwave silverwave

Here is a good review of an “actual” product just so you know what to aim for next time :-D

I think people expect to get what they pay for, especially in tech. Most people associate android devices as ‘cheaper’, and with absolute fails like the first Samsung Tab, the Xoom….etc, as long as the Fire performs with mediocrity…their users should be satisfied.

Anonymous

It has only one purpose. To get you to buy stuff from Amazon. Even reading is secondary.

Anonymous

Nothing wrong with that. I buy loads of stuff through Amazon.

Anita Pomerantz

I think a lot of the reviewers that are coming out with the negative reviews are very technical types who really don’t understand who the Amazon customer is. Amazon KNOWS its customers, just like Apple knows theirs. The Kindle Fire is not designed to compete with the iPad, but it is going to make huge in-roads with Amazon’s own customer base because (1) many of us already revere the Kindle brand – – we are readers first and foremost (2) our experience is that Amazon really cares about its customers, but recognizes that its customers place a big premium on VALUE (as opposed to prestige/owning the coolest, showiest, latest gadget) and (3) We don’t want to spend $500 on something that is primarily an entertainment device and where many of the features are easily duplicated by our phones or our laptops, and (4) Content is KING. #4 is something that has proven true time and time again, and yet people get all caught up in the technology itself. For regular people, we are after the content – – and we want it to be cheap and easy to obtain and preferably portable. Amazon’s got the content – – and I think their customer base has already chosen them on that basis. Now, they are just giving us an easier, more portable way to consume it. I’m sure this iteration of Fire won’t be perfection, but based on my experience with Kindle, it will get better and get better fast AND I’ll be able to afford to buy a new one next year . . .

Anonymous

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

http://twitter.com/yeldarbkered Derek Bradley

Did anyone actually think this was an Ipad competitor? This is more like if Apple released a smaller “App store” device. I’m pretty sure no one who bought this did so thinking it would replace their Ipad. This feels more like attention whoring than a well thought out review…

Ivan Karkour

I like how the author writes as if she/he experienced the Fire first hand. It sure as hell did not read that way. ha ha Anyway, those reviewers tore that Fire up, even for its storage. This is a streaming device “reviewers.” The majority of the content is meant to be streamed which is why its deprived of storage. Come on! Interesting article though. I cannot wait for continuing reviews. :)

http://nacs.livejournal.com/ JDavis

He didn’t claim its a review — he’s simply giving a roundup of other reviews.

Stop getting your panties in a wad about this article just because he said some of the negatives that had been referenced in other reviews.

I heard nothing but good things about the Kindle, so I bought one. The fact that it is seamless with Amazon is a great feature. I’ve had the Accuweather radar app lock up on me a couple times, but aside from that I’m quite pleased. I watch the freebies afforded me by my prime membership, which I’ve had long before I bought this, so yet another bonus. The screen looks great, and I can’t ask for more at the 200 dollar price point. Heck, I’ve seen Walmart offer it for 200 and give out a 50 dollar gift card. The author of this article obviously had his mind made up before he even touched the device. I like the soft buttons, and I don’t want the hard buttons. How many of you have had your home buttons take a dive on your apple product? Expandability isn’t an issue for me either because Box has an app that works well on here, which I can access easily. I’m tired of apple, who I concede makes a nice product, albeit 3 times what it is worth, and with their new business model of suing everyone to stifle competition, I’m done with them.

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